


an unlikely meeting

by Weirdflaws



Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-13 00:51:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5688235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weirdflaws/pseuds/Weirdflaws
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lone traveller Shinji Ikari encounters an unlikely man. It all started with a piano.</p>
            </blockquote>





	an unlikely meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Jumping in so late into the bandwagon. Enjoy this hasty written one-shot! *Jumps out*

Shinji Ikari has been staring at the chipping black piano ever since he let his gaze drop on it. The old thing wasn’t really eye-catching. Just staying solitary in the middle of a lane between rows of seats in the train station. The line of gaze never broke even when various people walked or stood in front of it. It’s weird, Shinji found, because he never had any reason to be near a piano, much less to play one.

He let his gaze drop after 15 minutes of staring. It wasn’t an ideal way to spend his remainder of – he checked his watch – 30 minutes to stare at the piano. Shinji took a deep breath and sighed through his nose, shaking the feeling of returning his stare back to the piano.

It’s been weeks since he left his old place, where he felt so suffocated like there’s a band of choker on his neck tightening if he stayed any longer. Shinji rubbed the area unconsciously. Until one day he just decided to pack his necessities in a backpack and run out of the quiet house during the early hours. No note. No messages. Just an empty space in the house. It’s not like anyone would miss him anyway.

Ever since then, he travelled alone to places he never had thought he would set foot on. See sights he never thought really existed behind photos from the internet. Smelt the air that was filled with flowing energy and _air_ than the musty dull smell from his place.

He finally felt what it was like to breathe.

* * *

A hopeless groan escaped his throat and he ran his hand through his short black hair when he realised that he actually gravitated a few rows nearer to the piano. He didn’t understand. Why is he so fixated with the old thing? It wasn’t like those sleek grand piano in the concerts his father brought him to when he was young. He could even bet there’s a few broken tones among those black and white keys.

Few seconds later, a woman with a child in tow stopped beside the piano for a chat. After what Shinji would think was a short introduction of themselves to a man, the child’s short attention was quickly distracted towards the piano. With one tiny finger, the child pressed a key and the piano resonated along. Shinji chuckled at the squeals erupted from the child and whom went into a rage of tinkling of jumbled notes.

They reminded him of his mother. A hazy memory of a smile and a blurred out face surfaced in his mind. Had they have times like this before she moved on? Shinji’s smile turned bittersweet at the thought. The moment was short lived though as the mother had finished her conversation with the acquaintance and tugged the crestfallen child away from his new found toy.

Shinji sneaked a glance at his watch. Another 15 minutes left to spare. He’d decided. Just another 15 minutes then he’d be gone from this place forever and no one would even recognise him even if he did came back God knows when in the future. 15 minutes to play that weirdly attention-absorbing piano and then he’s gone. The raven-haired boy took a gulp of air to calm his nerves.

Yes. Here he go.

Marching towards the piano along with his backpack took a much shorter time than he thought. He must have been sitting much closer than he expected. The backpack was dropped at the seats beside the piano and he gingerly sat down at the chair that was scratched from neglect. Shinji shrunk as he felt conscious of a few curious gazes fall onto him. He stared at his clenched hands and thought of fleeing.

But no. He wanted to do this. For some weird reason. He had a feeling that this piano was an old friend and it’s calling out to him for a reunion it had long been waited for.

With a pumping heart, Shinji meekly pressed a white key just like the child had done before and a lonely note floated around him. Just as fast as it came, the note was lost in the sound of the crowd. Feeling much bolder, he played a few more random notes that he felt it would sound nicely together.

In no shorter than a minute, a few notes suddenly turned into a full fledge melody that he had no idea how he came up with. But he stumbled a bit as his fingers felt clumsy with imprecision. His hand stopped in mid-air and he felt himself shrinking back in humility. Just as he had thought, he’d think he was going to play an actual song. Shinji frowned in defeat. He should bring it down and move away until people actually noticed his poor attempt to play the piano.

Suddenly a pale thin hand shot out on his right and tapped out a string of perfect melody on the black and white keys. Then Shinji realised that the melody actually continued his part of the song. An impromptu piece which he had never heard before in his life. Before he could even react, Shinji’s eyes widened and his breath escaped when he felt a warm body pressing close behind his back.

The playing never stopped. Shinji didn’t even knew he was still playing and actually keeping up to the stranger’s music. Or his music?

But the thought flew out of his mind when he accidentally glances up that hand to an arm and finally to the owner’s face. Do you know that feeling when you heard a really good song and you felt your body tingle and respond to it? That’s what Shinji felt when his gaze fall upon that white hair and red blazing eyes. It’s like electricity shot past him and he felt the residual energy buzzing within. He felt like they had known each other all this life.

The guy smiled so perfectly at him and whispered so softly like he’s telling a secret that he only meant for Shinji to hear. “You’re doing great.”

And Shinji blushed so hard he felt like calling for a fire truck to spray cool water on his face. He averted his eyes and felt his heart beating harder than before. Gosh. For years living with his family and friends, this is the first time ever he felt someone, much less a stranger, being genuinely nice to him.

In the midst of his panic, Shinji accidentally bumped onto the stranger’s playing hand and jolted back. “Sorry!” He squeaked and the stranger responded with a chuckle that spread warmth around his chest.

Taking a deep breath, Shinji focused back on the still on-going melody. There’s a few times where he thinks the song will end but the guy continues without any means of stopping. And Shinji just followed, straining to keep up and trying to figure out how it will end which caused him miss and misplay a few keys. He winced internally.

However, the guy just hummed and Shinji felt it vibrate through his back. “We sound good together.” He smoothly said and Shinji relaxed at the voice. Seconds later he found himself smiling as he played. He had never felt this exhilarating. Then again, he can’t help but think: How did he know this song? Why does it feel so familiar? Why does the body pressed behind his back felt so comforting? Shinji all but pushed the swarming questions into the back of his head. He’ll deal with it later.

Still playing the melody, he felt so comfortable to the point that he scooted aside and let the stranger sit beside him.

Shinji didn’t know how long it lasted. By now, the usual Shinji would be sweating by the attention they have gotten, but this Shinji didn’t care. He was immersed into the song. He felt like he was in an empty ground with crumbling red walls, both of them alone, with the stranger’s body pressed warmly and comfortably beside him. The sky sometimes blends into a sea of stars winking above them in the dark of the night. Sometimes with a lone tree appeared listening beside and sunrays shining past them from behind onto the glossy body of the piano.

Feeling his smile widen, Shinji chanced a glance towards the white-haired boy and saw him so mesmerised into the song his body was dancing along with his long slender fingers. Seeing those hands, those smiles the guy shot past his way and how those fingers just flies past the monochrome keys with familiarity.

_Piano duets are musical dialogues._

A foreign yet familiar voice resonated in his mind and Shinji felt that it was true.

He didn’t know who the stranger was, but he felt like they could save the world.

* * *

Finally. Shinji finally felt the ending of the song. And together as it come to a close, the song ended with a pair of marvellous chords and Shinji felt his breath was taken away but was filled entirely with a new sense of emotion and adrenaline as it flowed through his body.

His ears were pounding with excitement and chest heaving from the breathlessness as he sat there. But after a few minutes of gaining his breath, he realised that it wasn’t the excitement he felt in his ears but it was the cheering and applauses ringing around the train station by the people. Shinji was awed by the attention they’ve gotten and entirely misses the guy moving away from the crowd.

Shinji recovered from the stunned position he’s in as the crowd diminishes and well-wishers giving a last hand-shake in the end. Then he realised that the man was gone. He never got to say anything to the stranger. Or even gotten his name!

He shot up from the chair and stood on his tip-toes as he craned his neck to scan for that shock of white-hair. Shinji zeros so fast on that back he felt so familiar to, even all he did was felt it pressed warm behind his back.

Almost forgotten to snatch up his backpack, Shinji races towards that receding back and caught the sleeve of the guy’s white shirt.

“Hi.” was all he managed to pant out when he’s gotten the attention. “I don’t know you but… Thank you. For the song. But how do you even know that song?” Because frankly he’s also curious as to how his consciousness even came across it.

But the guy was smiling. Smiling so bright that Shinji felt his breath hitched at his throat and felt how oddly comforting it was. Before he even knew it, he couldn’t help but return the smile. Something was fluttering in his stomach and Shinji convinced himself that he was just excited from the playing before. Yes. That must be it.

“Have-have we met before?” Because that voice and hair and _eyes_. They felt so familiar and the strings in his heart tugged as his heart beats wildly against his chest.

“No.” A laugh erupted and the guy tilted his head. “I’m Kaworu. Kaworu Nagisa.” Shinji grasped the thin hand Kaworu held out for a handshake and his heart skipped a beat when he heard the next words.

“And I really was born to meet you.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by this [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I_NYya-WWg). But as usual, the piano piece in this fic is their love song: [Quatre Mains](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-JiYQka8Pc). So. This could develop into a Travelling AU! Depending on my will to continue writing and also my inspiration, which is fickle and weak.


End file.
